Kabita Das (Current AP Art student)

I have spent seven months in the Advanced Placement art class, and even after such a short amount of time, it has had a monumental impact on my art and my character.

In the preceding classes, Drawing and Painting 1&2, the students are intended to learn the basic technical skills to realistic art. When beginning AP Art, the next level, everyone is held to a high technical standard and are encouraged to push their boundaries in many ways. The assignments are given to us in short amounts of time, pushing us to work faster and think quicker. Because of this, I finally learned to trust my technical skills and to start painting with my emotions. Consequently my art has become increasingly personal and therapeutic because it has become a healthy emotional release of my accumulated stress.

Additionally, the relaxed environment that the class has instilled contributes greatly to the art that is produced. Because of our common interest and passion for art, I have grown extremely close to many of my peers and trust that they will not judge the ideas behind my art pieces, knowing that they can become very personal. This trust liberated my artistic exploration and allowed me to incorporate complex emotions that I may feel, but do not know how to otherwise express.

Because art is so personal, one might question the importance of the school setting, and suggest the possibility that us young aspiring artists take our art home and keep it there. In response: no I cannot. Art comes from inspiration; seeing and talking to different kinds of people. This I am able to do in the art room. I have had the opportunity to meet so many different people with whom I never would have thought to speak with, and have had amazing, memorable experiences. We encourage each other, we compete with each other and we push each other to higher standards. This is most certainly not an experience I can have in the corner of my bedroom.

Furthermore, the environment the art class has created gave me an opportunity to come out of my shell. The majority of my life, I've considered myself quiet and shy, and limited myself to certain boundaries because of these characteristics. I found it difficult to open up to other people in fear of being disregarded and thus I remained quiet. This affected my behavior in all my classes as I avoided participation and dreaded all oral presentations. However the environment in AP Art is much different than in any other classroom. I immediately felt accepted among the other students and gradually began talking more and more. I was inspired with confidence, and this carried through to every aspect of my life.

Art is important to me; it has helped me overcome countless personal barriers and encouraged me to push my boundaries. Losing a class like AP Art would be detrimental to me; I'm not sure how I could replace these experiences. However I have had them already, and what concerns me is passing these moments along to the next generation of AP Art students. What concerns me is the next young girl who struggles to make her voice heard in this world, and who can finally have a place project it. What concerns me is building upon a place of inspiration; not destroying it.